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Lance Moore’s original Super Bowl ring bound for auction

Lance Moore’s original Super Bowl ring bound for auction

A New Orleans Saints Super Bowl XLIV ring is displayed in New Orleans, Wednesday, June 16, 2010. The Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 in Super Bowl XLIV to attain its first championship in franchise history. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Memorabilia collectors don’t usually get the opportunity to acquire the championship ring of active NFL players, who earn lucrative salaries and have few reasons to sell one off.

But they’ll soon get that chance thanks to the ring Saints receiver Lance Moore got after Super Bowl XLIV — which, in a strange saga, was stolen, recovered and is now being auctioned off because the New Orleans wideout didn’t want it back.

In 2011, after Moore caught a two-point conversion to help the Saints win Super Bowl XLIV on Feb. 7, 2010, his home in his native Ohio was broken into by people who have never been arrested, and his championship ring was taken, he said.

Moore, who has been with the Saints since 2005 and has caught 30 passes for 337 yards and a touchdown this year, had a replacement ring made. The original was eventually found in an abandoned storage unit in Las Vegas, according to Heritage Auctions, which describes itself as the world’s largest collectibles auctioneer.

Moore said he opted against getting the original ring back. Among numerous other features, it includes the engraving “Finish, Be Special, Smell Greatness.”

“I didn’t really want to keep the one that was stolen and had changed hands,” Moore said.

“I could see if I was Drew” Brees, who was MVP of Super Bowl XLIV, Moore said. “But I’m not Drew. If somebody’s going to spend a bunch of thousands of dollars on it, they’re (crazy) — unless they’re just that fanatical about it.”